“It’s frankly a horrible job. I wouldn’t want it. Being the CEO of a big company is a hundred-hour-a-week job. It consumes your life. It consumes your weekend. It’s super-stressful. Sure, there’re enormous perks, but it’s also all-encompassing…” -Stanford University Professor of economics Nicholas Bloom on CEOs job, who has spent much of his career researching CEO effectiveness.
At a first glance one could think that getting promoted from inside of an organisation is easier for inside leaders than those who are hired from the outside. The transition should be seamless.
The leader already knows the company, its strategy, culture and history. They have developed relationships with peers, top management and the board. What is more, they have developed the credibility and support to get the promotion in the first place. They are the obvious and less risky hire.
And for these reasons, world’s largest companies chose to promote internal candidates.
However, challenges that leaders promoted from within face are actually equivalent to those that externally hired candidates face up to. Research shows that those challenges are at least the same in size, only different. Even though responsibilities of a CEO are unique and “super-stressful”, below challenges can be applied to any promotion.
Here are top challenges and tips from newly promoted inside CEOs:
1. ‘What got you here, won’t get you there’
Leaders get promoted based on their previous track record. Suddenly, now as a leader on a new level, they have to change perspectives, gain new knowledge, spend energy and resources away from their previous areas or responsibility. They have to prove themselves all over again. Showing commitment to the areas that aren’t just theirs but encompass the parts where they are not established yet is crucial.
2. Be prepared to disappoint and make tough decisions
People who have supported them during promotion might not have the same perspectives as they do about how the job should be done. Theur role is to be objective, consider priorities about the business as a whole, and accept that not everybody will agree with their vision. A good question to ask is what would an external CEO need to know to get a head start? Investing time and energy connecting with the part of the business that are crucial to the decision making as well as surrounding yourself with with people that can offer an honest assessment is crucial.
3. Build a new team around you
In a new position a leader is now in charge of people who were their peers or even superiors. They might be even leading colleagues who were competing for the same role. Shaking hands with the competitors and trying to get them on their side can be important. Further recognising (while helping former peers do the same), that relationships probably won’t be the same anymore. It’s not personal as leaders priorities have to shift to the organisation as a whole. Building a team around them that can support them achieve their vision is crucial.
4. Manage your transition & involve the company
It’ s exciting for a leader to be finally in a new position. It’s important to level up to the role quickly and it’s also important to balance the implementation of new ideas and strategies. Building a strong team around them, sharing their vision, engaging others, and listening to different perspectives is crucial. In addition trying to get the company involved is instrumental. A good question to ask is what documents, teams, assistance is needed for a smooth transition? What kind of assistance would an external hire get?
Once a leader is promoted the real question is, how do they create significant value on sustained bases year after year during their tenure. Research shows that what is unique to the best of leaders is their mind-set regarding the responsibilities they have as a leader, and the actions they take to tackle the them.
If you want to know what distinguishes top CEO performers from the average, stay tuned for the Next Post.
Harvard Business Review, Chastain A P, Watkins M D ‘How Insider CEOs Succeed’, March-April 2020.
Image: Alamy, Paul Bettany for Margin Call, 2011.